Kandra Niagra

Wymzee art is proud to present
Kandra Niagra
AKA
Wee People Dolls




Kandra was raised on the shores of eastern Long Island and went to college on the plateaus of western New York State, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Kandra now lives in Smithville, Texas, or Podunk Ville, as she calls it.



She is not married, has one grown daughter and lives by herself in complete bliss and freedom. Kandra lives in the country with two chickens, three cats and one dog. All her life she had been afraid to live alone. Now, she says “what on earth was I thinking“. She LOVEs having everything her own way. Having supported herself and raised her daughter and making dolls for 31 years. She estimates 8000+ dolls over those years.



Kandra is also a wonderful painter! You can see her paintings on this blog.




She loves folk art and Whimsy too and has seen the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. With that said, she is totally NOT into stuffy old Fine Art. Exceptions: the Impressionists (Van Gogh's paintings hit her in the chest and nearly knocked the breath out of her) and of course, her life-long love, Leonardo DaVinci. He inspires her and she loves Leonardo Da Vinci for his eyes.



Other people who inspire her are anyone who thinks outside the box. There is so much inspiration out there online, Kandra says she couldn't possibly mention every person, but Nick Cave is at the top of her very long list.



Her favorite season to create for? Hands down: Halloween.




Kandra has a Doll Teaching Studio at her home in Smithville, Texas. She teaches Dollmaking Classes in the summers and winters. Check out her newsletter You can see her last newsletter for the story on the Red Hatters Dollmaking Class in July.



Kandra was published in Texas Highways Magazine back in 1983 (December Issue) and Wee Peeple were the cover story for the Hill Country Reporter in October of 2004.
Currently, She can be seen at her Wee Peeple Newsletter.


In her Newsletters you will always find what is new for her each month. The links to the Newsletters are all on the left-hand side on her Homepage .



Kandra’s newest project is “The Doll Arbors: Portals to the Unknown” These Arbors have themes, like "Rose Garden" "Steampunk" "Ivy Trellis" etc. Each archway is a one-of-a-kind construction, just like each of her dolls. They frame the dolls and create an "Environment" around them. Go here
and scroll down to view them.



Kandra sells at 2 Renaissance Festival Shops in Texas, works out of her studio, where she also has classes and publishes the “Wee Peeple Newsletter” each month. That goes out to about 1000 customers each time. Her main two locations are: (in the Spring) Scarborough Faire (a Renaissance Festival) in Waxahachie, Texas, and (in the Fall), The Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas .



Each one of these shows run for 8 weekends (April-May and October-November). She also uses ETSY and sells dolls listed on her own website, http://weepeeple.com/ . She also does a Woman's Conference, one weekend in February. She hosts this in a different city, each year.



For her own facebook page and for the Wee Peeple Doll Constructions.





She is also super into creating her own Online Graphics, animations and comic strips.



As always, I want to know what, if any, information or advise she would share with others trying to be successful in an online business.



Kandra told me “ I give a ten percent repeat customer discount to every single person who has ever bought a doll from me at one of my shops and comes back for more. I don't know much about online sales, but I know that the 10% repeat customer discount is a successful action. There are certain days at the Festivals when 90% of my customers are repeat customers. I know this because I make a note of the discounts I give them. I have also been known to give a free doll to anyone who has purchased 20 dolls from me. My best customer ever currently owns 93 of my dolls.”



I think it is fun to find out what artists collect for themselves and I asked Kandra what she collects. Her replay, “Oh boy, lots of things. Holey stones, fossils, crystals (I don't purchase them, but I do hunt for them). Any stone that has a naturally occurring concentric circle pattern in it.. Also, I do collect miniature teapots, red hats, books by my favorite authors, vases with faces in them. Really, all sorts of things, but mostly I collect odds and ends that can be used in doll making, including metal things that look like they could be used to make anything “Steampunk“. I love that stuff and just about anything with wheels and gadgets that have cranks.”



To see more of this wonderfully talented artist visit any of her links for ….
Kandra Niagra, a Dollmaker and Painter.